The 7 ADHD superpowers you should know about

There's a lot of stuff written about the negative symptoms for those living with ADHD. While those symptoms are real, it's important not to ignore all the awesome stuff that comes with having a brain that works different to others. So let's dig into the areas where people with ADHD have an unfair advantage to bring some counterbalance to the areas where there is a disadvantage.

Remember...with great power comes great responsibility.

Problem Solving

One of the benefits of having a brain that darts around different topics a lot is that it can be a powerful way of seeing a solution to a problem that others might miss. Having the ability to see several different areas that may seem unrelated and somehow being able to pull them together into a coherent strategy is super beneficial. In other words piecing together a jumbled puzzle is our lived experience!

Creativity

Our impulsiveness and inattention can actually lead to super creative ideas. When the mind wonders during a task, it can present some unique thinking patterns that can be creative. On the flip side, the ability to hyper-focus on one task or topic that interests us can be an incredibly powerful creative side kick.

Empathy

People with ADHD are often very sensitive in nature and feel emotions very profoundly. This can lead to stronger emotional intelligence and an awareness of how others are feeling when they are in pain. Also, feeling different from everyone else helps us understand what it is like to feel isolated, which can allow for greater compassion.

Humour

Humour is an ADHD gift. The ability for a brain to impulsively put together seemingly random and unconnected items together can be hilarious. One downside is that we can often miss-time things with the brain going at 10,000 miles per hour. Overall though, the ADHD brain can fire out jokes at a high rate.

Resilience

Growing up with the challenges of ADHD can help us develop strong resililience to adversity along the way. Having to work harder than others to achieve things can feel harsh at the time but that ability to keep pushing through to get what you want in spite of any challenges creates incredible strength.

Intuition

Loads of people with ADHD will swear they have a spidey sense for knowing what is going on. That is likely true, because they are taking in more information than the average brain. Most brains filter out a load of everyday noise and guff you don't need naturally. The ADHD brain doesn't do this as efficiently meaning we are taking in loads more stimulus. This can be a negative, but one of the positives is noticing things others maybe don't.

Insane Focus

Hyper-focus can be a gift from the gods. When people with ADHD are in this flow state where a bomb couldn't break our laser focus on the task at hand. This is incredibly useful but also can be not so useful when we end up with this focus on a topic that isn't helpful. Overall I think it is a net positive.